‘Real football guy’ coached at North Catholic, Canevin
Joseph Edward Bushofsky, a North Side native who went on to work 28 years in NFL front offices, died March 6 in Pinehurst, N.C. He was 85.
Mr. Bushofsky attended North Catholic High School and accepted a football scholarship to North Carolina State, where he played from 1958 to 1962. He began his coaching career as a teacher and coach at Canevin High School and later at his alma mater, where he won a Catholic League championship.
North Catholic served as a breeding ground for many young men who ended up working in the NFL, including a couple who helped build the Steelers into a dynasty in the 1970s. Art Rooney Jr. and his brother, Dan, went to North Catholic. Art ran the Steelers personnel department and Dan eventually became team president.
Others followed in their footsteps, including Mr. Bushofsky and his brother Jack; former Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert and his brother Bob; John Goeller; and Tim Rooney, a nephew of Steelers founder Art Rooney.
Mr. Bushofsky and Tim Rooney were separated by two years at North Catholic and worked together at Canevin and later with the Detroit Lions.
“He was a big influence on me,” Tim Rooney said. “I didn’t know a lot about coaching when I got to Canevin. He taught me how to prepare and how to run practices.”
Mr. Bushofsky got his start in professional football like many other high school coaches did in that era. The Steelers brought in local high school coaches to help grade film on pro and college players as they were building up their player personnel department.
It was a way for high school coaches to earn some extra money, but it also served as an avenue for many of them to enter the world of professional football. Many of those coaches went on to work for Jack Butler, the former Steelers defensive back and a Pro Football Hall of Famer, at BLESTO, one of the scouting services the NFL uses.
“Joe was a really special guy,” said Art Rooney Jr. “He was a real football guy.”
After working for BLESTO, Mr. Bushofsky was hired by the Lions and rose to the head of their player personnel department in 1987. While in Detroit, Mr. Bushofsky played a leading role in the drafting of Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders, linebacker Chris Spielman and receiver Herman Moore, among others.
“Joe and Jack came from hard-working middle-class families,” Tim Rooney said. “They had the work ethic. That’s how they played and how they competed. When you went to BLESTO you were exposed to guys who taught you how to scout. He was exposed to some great people when he was there.”
In addition to Detroit, Mr. Bushofsky worked in the player personnel departments for the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers. In Carolina, Mr. Bushofsky got to work with Jack for his final years in the business before retiring in 2002.
Mr. Bushofsky was inducted into the North Catholic sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the western chapter of the Pennsylvania sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
In addition to his brother Jack, Mr. Bushofsky is survived by his wife of 61 years, Rosemarie; son Ted, of Lake Orion, Mich., daughters Tracy, of Lake Orion, Mich., Trish of McMurray and Terri of Durham, N.C., another brother, James of Pittsburgh; and five grandchildren.
Visitation will be held at Devlin Funeral Home, 806 Perry Highway, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday. The funeral Mass begins at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Saint Teresa of Avila Church, 1000 Avila Court, Ross.